Betsy Davis’ 100-year-old wooden boat GLORYBE burned and sank in a tragic fire at the Seattle Yacht Club in 2002. Following boatbuilding school Betsy served as the Executive Director at The Center for Wooden Boats for 11 years and then moved on to become the Executive Director of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. Here she tells the story of GLORYBE’s restoration and all that it taught her.
GLORYBE is a beautiful 36 foot double-ender that was built in 1914 at the Taylor-Grandy boatyard on Vashon Island, just west of Seattle. Read Betsy’s account of the 2002 fire.
Here’s the happy ending: After a 3-year restoration, GLORYBE was launched again in 2005, and this year she celebrates her 100th birthday.
See The Off Center Harbor video aboard the GLORYBE.
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steve johnson says:
Betsy, you are one amazing woman,and of course Glorybe loves you, is indebted to you
and is just the right fit .. and thank you for allowing us into the shop to peer over your planer and to further enjoy your sense of humor and dearness . Also, your hosting of the OCH film team aboard Glorybe was a gem, the only fault being the film ended way too soon.
William Holland says:
And now you get to lead scores of others through the joy and redemption of boatbuilding
as executive director of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, WA.
As the school’s founder Bob Prothero would say “A man without a tool is just a monkey.” And now a woman shall lead them. GloryBe, another happy ending!
William Mangum says:
Amazing how a boat can be such a spiritual comfort and healer of individuals as well as whole families. Maybe it’s God working through our love of the boat.